The 5-letter word.

Ephesians 3:17, says, “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong”. 

In and of ourselves we may be weak and unable to face off to life’s many challenges- but what amazing love the Father has lavished on us that keeps us strong for as long as we lean on Him!

The opening sentence of today’s verse tells us exactly what we need to do if we want Jesus to get comfortable and cosy and make our hearts His home. It’s a five letter word which is dreaded by some more than the four letter word called love. TRUST. I’ve heard so many people say they have trust issues. In fact I have said it multiple times myself! When someone gets too close, sometimes we may not put it into words but what we are really meaning to say is that, “It’s not you, it’s me. I just have trust issues. So… this is not going to work out”. It does not need to be in a romantic setting, this could be in a business setting, or trusting a work colleague to finish up a report for you or relationships with friends. 

I have also heard this phrase multiple times, “Trust is earned”. Whilst there may be some truth in that, we cannot use that as a shield we hide behind to avoid letting people in. Anyway, I digress. Jesus loves us unconditionally. He is more than happy to come dwell in our hearts if we invite Him. However sometimes, unintentionally, we make the living conditions somewhat hostile for Him to make our hearts His home. What I love about God is that He doesn’t want us to guess what will make Him happy. He tells us, “If you trust Me, I will make your heart My home”. That’s what our verse is telling us. 

We need to put aside our so called “trust issues” or past hurts. We may not understand everything God does, but we sure can trust His heart towards us. That is all He is asking. He didn’t ask us to agree with everything He does, or even pretend like we get it. He is just asking, “Do you trust Me?” We need to let go of our fears and come to a place where we can answer that with a strong bold “Yes!” Before we know it, Jesus will settle into our hearts and make Himself at home. Our roots will then have the chance to grow down into God’s love as we stay connected and we will be strong. We draw our strength from God’s love, but it all starts with trusting Jesus. 

Have a blessed week!